The same day as the World Wide Insta Meet, I had another photographic obligation an hour away just outside of the city. Was it a lot to pack into one afternoon? Yes. Did I say no to either just because I knew I was cutting it close? Hell no. Some things never change.
Being an au pair, I don’t get the chance to meet very many French people my age. I know that sounds crazy, but once you’ve established yourself with a group of au pair friends within an au pair network, none of whom are French, it can seem like too much of a hassle to figure out ways to make friends. Parisians are also notoriously clique-y and hard to get in with, so I don’t have a lot of French friends. One exception is the lovely nanny of one of my younger girl’s friends. We met at the park when we realized that our kids knew each other from their old school and became fast friends. She’s a student as well, so I don’t get a chance to see her very often. Thus, when she told me she was filming a play she had both written and directed, I asked if she needed anyone to photograph it, thinking it would be both fun and good practice for me. She looked surprised but happily accepted the offer. So instead of staying for the whole InstaMeet, I took off about halfway through and headed east of the city to Montreuil to shoot the tournage.
If I had been there earlier in the day, I’m sure I could have gotten some more variety in my shots, but it was nice to be there for the end of the filming and to be able to help clean up and spend that time getting to know my friend’s family and friends a little bit. It’s times like these, hanging out with actual French people and getting to know them, that I really can’t imagine moving back home when my life here is just beginning.
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